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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29400888">Closer</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nadare/pseuds/Nadare'>Nadare</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Challenge Yourself Fic Prompts 2021 [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Punisher (TV 2017)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate take, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s02 Two Dead Men, F/M, Fluff, Hugs, Literal Sleeping Together, One Shot, POV Karen Page, Present Tense, Season/Series 01, Sharing a Bed, Vignette, kastle - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 09:48:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>779</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29400888</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nadare/pseuds/Nadare</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Karen knows she shouldn't want Frank, but she does. Surely one hug wouldn't be so bad, would it?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Frank Castle/Karen Page</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Challenge Yourself Fic Prompts 2021 [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2146407</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Fandoms Challenge 2021</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Closer</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Challenge 2: Write in a tense you aren't used to. </p><p>I almost always go for past so present it is. :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The hug is a mistake.</p><p>Karen can feel Frank tense up against her, hesitant to accept the sudden gesture of affection. She refuses to let go, determined to give him a little comfort in his time of need.</p><p>He had come to her for help and Karen knows how hard coming to that decision must have been for him. Frank is very much a one-man army, operating in the shadows, but at the same time, he refuses to involve innocent people in his goings-on.</p><p>He must truly be alone right now.</p><p>He’s a big man, solid in muscle and frame. Karen wonders what he’s doing to survive. If he’s making any friends. Probably not.</p><p>She starts at the soft touch of his hands on her back, the way he silently leans into her body, his chin resting on her shoulder.  </p><p>Karen closes her eyes. Whether she wants to admit it or not, there has always been some kind of tension between them since the day they’d met.</p><p>With the way Frank lives, constantly putting himself in the line of fire, there is no time for relationships. Not when even knowing Frank can be a safety hazard.</p><p>She doesn’t want to let go but reluctantly steps back, avoiding Frank’s eyes for a moment. Karen plays with her hair. “Just really good to see you.”</p><p>It’s a flimsy excuse and she knows it.</p><p>Frank accepts it though, looking a bit flustered. “Mmm, it’s good to see you.”</p><p>Seeing that, Karen can’t help reaching out and grasp Frank’s wrist. His dark eyes flit up to her, a question in them.    </p><p>“Stay a while longer,” Karen says, peering up at Frank nervously. She hadn’t known before now how much she wanted from him. “No one knows you’re here after all.”</p><p>One side of Frank’s mouth raises momentarily before breaking her hold on him. “I can’t give you what you want.”  </p><p>Karen smiles as she leans forward and puts a finger to Frank's lips. “I know. That’s why I'm asking Pete Castiglione, not Frank Castle. Still, he doesn’t have to do anything he doesn’t want to.”</p><p>She pulls Frank towards her bedroom, her pulse beginning to run a little faster. Karen doesn’t plan to push things far, but the thought of getting closer to Frank is thrilling.</p><p>“Karen.”</p><p>She shakes her head as Frank takes a seat on the side of the bed, sidling in next to him. “I would never dare to intrude on your precious memories, but maybe I can help you make some new ones.”</p><p>There’s a flash of a smile and Frank’s arm settles around her waist. He gently draws Karen down onto the bed and she lies against his side, extending on arm over his waist. In the silence that descends upon them, she can hear Frank’s faint heartbeat against her ear.</p><p>“Thanks,” Frank says quietly, Karen's face warming briefly at the words.</p><p>“I-It's no problem.”</p><p>This was what many misunderstood about Castle. They assumed because he was capable of awful things that he must be a monster through and through when nothing could be further from the truth.</p><p>It's because he feels his past losses so acutely every day that he even set out on his personal mission to punish criminals. And like anyone else, he has needs, a basic desire for human contact.</p><p>Frank doesn’t let many get close, but he’ll protect them with a ferocity because they're all he has. It's a lonely existence Karen wouldn’t wish on her worst enemies.</p><p>She's curious how long it's been since Frank has let anyone else see him so vulnerable, assuming it's been a long time. Perhaps since he lost his family that fateful day in the park.</p><p>Karen is touched that he thinks so much of her.</p><p>The arm around her loosens slightly, Frank's breath slowing and Karen realizes he's fallen asleep. She's never seen him like this before and lifts her head up.</p><p>He looks peaceful, Frank's usual intensity gone. He seems younger in his sleep, those rough features of his gone soft.</p><p>Karen stops herself from reaching out and touching his cheek, afraid that it will lead to something more. That she'll end up asking too much and he'll turn her away.</p><p>She lays her head back down and presses closer to Frank. In another hour or two, Karen will have to wake him up so he can leave under the cover of night.</p><p>But, as always, she chooses to focus on the present. Karen hadn’t expected Frank's kindness tonight and she knows what a rare gift it is.</p><p>It's all he can give her and for now, it's enough.</p><p>The future, however, is another story.</p>
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